Interchangeable element electric illuminated sign



R. c. LUHMAN 1,844,097

INTERCHANGEABLE ELEMENT ELECTRIC ILLUMINATED SIGN Filed Oct. 18, 1929 fi/bm@- Patented Feb. 9, 1932 UNrrsD 'STATES RICHARD CARL LUHMAN,` OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS INTERCHANGEABLE ELEMENT ELECTRIC ILLUMIZ'ATED SIGN Application iled October 18, 1929. K Serial No. 400,478.

rlhe present invention relates to illuminated signs, and particularly to interchangeable elements employed in making up such signs, wherein sign unit elements are provided SJ which maybe variously assembled to form fa sign in any of a large variety of forms and legends. Each letter, or combination of letters, as may be required to form the sign, are in units, and the desired sign units are then assembled in registry in a readily cooperative manner to form the sign.

The exemplary embodiment shows these sign units as individually illuminated by an electric lamp wherein the current supply conductors for the lamp comprise unit bus bars having a jack connection at one end and a plug projection at the other end of therespective bus bars. These unit bus bars may then be assembled in tandem sothat the plug projections cooperate with jacks in order that as many sign elements as desired may be placed in tandem and in predetermined registry, in any desired direction to form the sign embodiment.

Vith reference to the accompanying draw* ings Fig. 1 shows a sign made up of ve of the sign units of the invention.

F ig. 2 shows the component parts of one of the sign units disassembled.

Fig. 8 shows a View of the jack connection on the respective bus bars of the pair shown in Fig. 2.

With reference to Fig. 2, there is a body portion 10 made of tin plate, sheet copper or oit-her suitable metal or material. This body Yportion is folded into a quadrangular form,

wherein projections 11 are folded or flanged 40 tionthus simulates a completely enclosed rectangular sheet metal box wherein the top and bottom is almost wholly cut away, leaving a margin or flange portion bordering the adjacent sides. The sheet formingthe body are junctioned. The purpose of these flange portions will appear presently.

Running laterally across the body portion are two stout bus bars 12. These bus bars are near one side, the bottom in the exemplary plug projections are long enough to permit kover at the ends of the form, The body porportion is suitably 'seamed `where the ends embodiment, and are spaced so as to be adapted to receive the terminals of the lamp socket 13, which latter socket may be of any suitable type.' Insulating blocks 15 are secured to the body portion by the punched out por- 55V tions 17, which latter portions are bent over to clamp the insulating blocks into rigidv position. The insulating blocks 15 areY drilled to receive the bus bars 12 and hold them securely.

At the near end of the bus bars 12 they are shaped to form plug projections 18, cooperative with jacks as 19 of the adjacent and registering body portion of another unit. These the units to be spaced apart, or to be immediately contiguous. Moreover, extension elements, not shown, may be introduced to lengthen the plug projections to any desired degree so as to enable the units to be spaced at any desired distance. l

Telescoping member 20, made oit suitable sheet material, is adapted to t snugly over the member 10, it having a recessed portion 21 which registers with the near half of the insulating block 15, so that the metal of the member 2O will not come into electrical contact with the near plug connector 18. The member 20 covers one half of the member 10, and therefore extends midway between the two plug projections 18. y n

The member 2O has the near end 2,2 flanged to register with the flanges 11, and is thus adapted to securely clampbetween them the transparency member 25 carrying the sign character element. The latter member is madel of opaque, or practically opaque, mav "terial about one fourth inch i-nv thickness, or

other suitable thickness, and has the letter,

letters or other character for display trans- QQ lucent or even transparent. Thus, the member 25 may be made of glass and painted or enameled, vleaving the display portion to be observed illuminated clear.

It will be understood that the member 27 is 'similar to the member 20, in fact interchangeable in the exampled organization, and

Vserves to telescope the rear half of the member 10 so that the member 10 is completely enclosed with the members 20 and 27 and the members 25 and 28, respectively, forming the enclosing ends of the member 10; its flanges 30 corresponding to flanges 22 and registering with flanges 31 on member lO. In Jfact, mein'- ber 27 is identical with member 20 and interchangeable therewith.

It will be further understood that the member 28, or in fact the member 25 also, may be completely opaque, perhaps employed as a spacer between words of the sign. `The members 25 and 28m-ay,embody1any letter or character, so that the unit of the present invention may thus be .adapted-to display any letter or legend on both ends by the members 25 and 28; it being merely necessary to assemble the desired letters or legends or blanks as desired for the front and rear ends in place of members 25A and 28.

In connection with'the foregoing, it will be understood that in certain instances the sign will display lin one V)direction only, and

yin that event the backside will have blanks l for the member as 25 or 28 faced to the back. Again, the -sign'may display in front and back directions, and in that event the members 25 and .28 will be chosen in the reciprocal order with respect to the letters and blank spaces comprising the sign.

The sign exampled in Fig. l is horizontal, but it will be understood that the units of the sign may be assembled vertically or at any desired angle,'and then the proper letters or legends used for the members 25 and 28.

The current for energizing the sign will be applied at the end most convenient at the free plug connections or jacks, as the case may be; in fact the current may be applied at any space intermediate of the ends of the s1 n.

gIt will thus be apparent that I have vdevised a sign embodiment made up of units that maybe made generally alike, with convenient means for readily varying the letter or legend carried thereby. Moreover, the units may not all be of the same dimensions, so long as they are adapted to register their plug projections and jacks cooperatively. F or example, the first letter ol the sign may be larger than the others, mounted in a cory respondingly larger embodiment and with a larger lamp, of desired tint. The plug projections and jacks-while eliecting the electrical connection between cooperated sign units incidentally place the cooperated sign units in proper alignment in the sign. I claim 1. In a sign, a unit consisting of a body portion, a first telescoping member, an interchangeable transparency member clamped by the telescoping member between the flanges of the body portion, a second telescoping member adapted to clamp a second said transparency between the flanges of the said body portion, a lamp and its socket for illuminating the transparencies involving a pair of bus bars for physically supporting the lamp and conducting current to the lamp extending across the body portion and held in place by insulating supports mounted in the opposite walls of the bod)7 portion.

2. An illuminated sign unit consisting of a container, insulated members secured to opposite sides of the container, bus bars eX- Atending between said insulated members, and

Vquadrangular body member, having opposite open sides, a .lamp for illuminating the unit from withinV the body portion, flanged telescoping members adapted to tit over the open sides and body member from opposite sides 0f the body member so that the .flanged edges of thetelesc-oping members fit together to-j thus form an envelope for the body member, transparencies adapted to be placed over the open sides of'. the body member before the telescoping members are placed over the' body member Vso that when the transparencies and f;

the telescoping members'are placed the open sides of the body member will be closed by the transparency members and the edges of the latter will be concealed by the flanges of the telescoping members. f 2li* 4. In an lelectric sign, a plurality oi units each comprising a rectangular container having a pair of bus bars extending therethrough, an electric lamp socket disposed Y within each of said containers and connectediu in a bridge between said bus bars andbein-g physically supported upon said bars, said bus bars being formed at one end with plug projections extending beyond the container and atY the other end with receiving sockets dis-f posed within the container for receiving the pr'ojecting'plugs on the corresponding members of the adjacent container, whereby the terminals of adjacent containers are slidingside to the other of each of said units, a`

lamp socket for each unit connected in bridge of said bus bars and physically supported by said bars, each pair of said bus bars being v provided at one end with plug projections eX- tending beyond the unit and at the other end with receiving sockets disposed within the unit for receiving the projecting plugs on the corresponding members of the adjacent unit whereby the said units may be readily detachably united to form the sign of the assembled ly inter-engaged when the units are assemunits and whereby consequent to uniting said units in registry the bus bar pairs of the respective units will be connected in tandem as a continuous bus bar pair between which all said lamp sockets will bear a multiple electrical relation.

6. In an electrical sign, a sign unit having a pair of bus bars extending therethrough, a lamp supported by said bus bars for illuminating the sign unit, said bus bars being held in place by insulating supports provided on oppositely disposed walls of said unit, other sign units interchangeable with each other, projecting plugs provided on one of the ends of each of said bus bars, said projecting plugs extending beyond the end wall of the unit within which it is disposed, receiving sockets provided on the other ends of said bus bars for receiving therein the projecting plugs of the corresponding members of the adjacent unit, whereby when desired ones of said sign units are assembled to form a sign, the bus bar extensions will serve to align the units into a sign arrangement and to, at the same time, inter-connect the bus bars so that all the lamp sockets will be in multiple electrical relation.

7. An illuminated sign unit consisting of a container, insulated members secured to opposite sides ot the container, bus bars eX- tending between and supported by said insulated members, said bus bars being formed at one end with plug projections extending beyond the container and at the other end with receiving sockets disposed within the container for receiving the projecting plugs on the corresponding members of the adjacent container, and an electric lamp for illuminating the unit connected in electrical bridge of said bus bars.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this twelfth day of October, 1929.

RICHARD CARL LUHMAN. 

